Remembering the Forgotten: I
by MyStOrIeS
Summary: Peter Pettigrew has become synonymous with the words traitor, rat, and sneak but what if he's undeserving of that? This is the story of Peter Pettigrew's first year as a student in Hogwarts. Part one of a series.
1. Chapter One

**Title: **Remembering the Forgotten: I

**Summmary: **Peter Pettigrew has become synonymous with the words traitor, rat, and sneak but what if he's undeserving of that? This is the story of Peter Pettigrew's first year as a student in Hogwarts as he discovers friendship, self-acceptance, and courage.

**Pairings: **none for this one, I think

**Feedback: **All feedback is appreciated, as long as it is not needless flames. Those you can keep to yourself.

**Rating/Warnings: **G/none

**Author's Notes: **This is my first attempt at undertaking a huge project. I plan on writing a story for each year Peter was at Hogwarts, and then either a short or long fic about his supposed betrayal. Also, I must warn you, I am a female with (at the moment) absolutely no interest, friendly or romantic, in boys because they're all so immature at my age. Also, I've never exactly been welcomed as a friend. For those reasons, it is rather hard for me to get inside a boy's head, and I'm afraid Peter might seem...girlish in his emotions and thoughts. This is really the main thing I'm interested in hearing about - whether or not Peter is a believable boy.

Alright...enjoy!

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**Chapter One:**

I clutched at my robes and concentrated on my hands, my face scorching with embarrassment. The two boys opposite me were laughing hysterically, while the one next to me was frowning. "Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Y-yes," I stuttered, glancing into his face briefly. He looked as tired as Mum did on her bad days, and his eyes were a peculiar brown, flecked with amber. "Th-thank you." He raised an eyebrow and I reached for a wet cloth and scrubbed the remaining potion off my face. Professor Snape, potions master, cast a sneer in my direction and I shrank under his gaze. After only being at school a month, Professor Snape and his son Severus scared me more than anyone or anything ever had. A lot of things scare me. I had gotten homesick the first night and slipped out to find a professor, hoping for comfort. Snape had found me and given me four week day nights of detention.

Class ended and I gathered up my books and left before fifteen seconds had passed. I wasn't going to wait around for Snape to assign me even more detention.

"Hey! Um...you. The boy from potions!" I snuck a glance behind me, curious to see who was being called, and found the boy from potions looking at me intently and waving.

"M-me?" I squeaked, embarrassed at my nervousness and blushing further.

"No, the other Gryffindor right behind you," he said, though not unkindly, and he smiled. "I'm Remus Lupin." He stretched out a thin, long fingered hand and I grasped it quickly with my pudgy one.

"Peter Pettigrew," I replied, smiling tentatively in return to his greeting. "You - er - you're really g-good at p-potions."

"Thanks," he said, flashing me a smile. He didn't comment on my stutter - which I hadn't been able to control even in eight years of trying - not even sympathetically, and I was pleasantly surprised. "You want to be my partner for the rest of the year?" I squeaked once more, startled, and flapped my lips uselessly for quite some time. He remained impassive, waiting, and finally I nodded tightly. "Great. Oh...I'm sorry for those twits who were laughing at you. James and Sirius don't mean to be mean."

"Oh, n-no, it's okay," I said, trying to assure him. It _had_ hurt, but I didn't want to alienate my first friend for holding grudges or something. He nodded and smiled once more.

"I'll be seeing you, Peter." And, with a clap on my shoulder, he was gone, calling after someone else - presumably James and Sirius. My heart was racing long after I'd settled into my seat for Charms. My mind was buzzing, and I was glad I had this class with Ravenclaws, who would answer all the questions.

That is, on any other day than the one I was distracted. "Mr. Pettigrew...what was the incantation?" Professor Flitwick asked and I gulped nervously, once again reaching for the folds of my robe and twisting them in my fingers. "For the levitating charm?" he prompted and I squinted my eyes, thinking.

"Um..._Wegaridium_?" I asked helplessly. He sighed as the rest of the class burst out laughing.

"That, Mr. Pettigrew, is a spell you will go over if you decide to have a career in delivering babies. The correct incantation is _Wingardium Leviosa_," he said and a hot flush charged across my neck and smothered my face before igniting my ears.

"Yes s-sir," I murmured, sinking in my seat as the final echoes of laughter died out.

"Perhaps you would like to demonstrate?" he asked, fixing me with a look that clearly said I didn't have an option. I nodded miserably and was prepared to take a stand in front of the entire class, when the door flung open and in strode Sirius and James.

James winked at me as Sirius pulled out a note and announced, "Would Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers Pettigrew please come to the Transfiguration classroom?" He looked up and flashed a grin at Professor Flitwick. "Peter Piper also Peeps at Por-"

"I'm coming," I interrupted, standing up and releasing my hold on my robes. "Is th-that alright, professor?" I asked. He nodded, looking suspicious, and each of my arms was grabbed as I was forcefully escorted out of the classroom. As soon as we were a safe distance away, James and Sirius cracked up, leaning against each for support as they wiped at their eyes, crying tears of mirth.

"So, Peter Piper," James chuckled, "don't you have two words you'd like to say to us?" He batted his eyelashes at me and I pressed myself against the wall, weary.

"Not really," I answered. There was a beat of silence, and then Sirius started laughing once more.

"What are you two doing?" I relaxed fractionally when I recognized Remus's voice.

"We rescued poor Peter Piper from a pathetic professor," Sirius answered innocently. I sighed and, unable to resist, grabbed a fistful of robes. Three pairs of eyes watched me worry the fabric for a moment, but no one commented.

"I'm going t-to get in trouble," I told them anxiously, too scared to meet their eyes. "He'll find out P-professor McGonagall didn't want m-me and-"

"Peter, it's okay," Remus said kindly, fixing me with another smile. "You can't be blamed for going along with a stunt Sirius and James pulled." He paused and then added sharply, cutting me off from speaking, "And don't worry about them getting in trouble! They're trying to set a record for the most detentions in a year without purposely doing things to get detention. So far they've had fifteen." His smile turned crooked and he rolled his eyes in the direction of his friends. "Besides, we're all friends here." I chanced a look at Sirius and James, who were nodding vigorously, and I felt a grin break across my face.

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At dinner, I kept a nervous eye on the staff table, positive Professor Flitwick would ask Professor McGonagall what she'd needed with me. Then, halfway through the meal, his eyes met mine and he smiled faintly. I was shocked as Sirius grinned and elbowed me, bobbing his head as if to say _see? _and it made me smile. James also flashed me a grin, before turning back to his muted conversation with a second year. I watched as the second year palmed him a sizable package and a few sickles were dropped 'discreetly' in his hand. What was James buying? 

"Peter? Would you like to get together in the common room to practice brewing the potion we have tomorrow?" Remus asked, drawing my eyes to him. I flushed, feeling the same way I had when I was younger and got caught brandishing my grandmother's wand and exploding glass happily.

"We c-can do that?" I returned, eyebrows lifting.

"Of course. Why shouldn't we be able to?" He lifted his eyebrows in return and I offered him a tiny smile, picking up my previously avoided knife and began cutting my steak.

"Alright th-then," I agreed, feeling immensely relieved to have a friend. He smiled back and engaged me in conversation for the rest of the meal, seemingly determined about something...and then I realized, like a knife of ice being plunged into my stomach. Remus was only trying to distract me from James and the second year. Of course..._how_ could I have been so thick as to think _anyone_ would actually want to be _my_ friend?

"Peter?" There he was again, acting so extraordinarily well like he cared. I crumpled up my napkin and aimed a frosty smile at him.

"I'm not sh-sure if I'll be able to m-meet with you tonight," I told him.

He frowned and muttered, "Godric, you're complicated."

"Or m-maybe I don't like to b-be played," I pointed out, too loudly. Several eyes were drawn to me and I flushed, grabbing my robes once more.

"I wasn't..." his eye darted to James and comprehension flooded his face. "Peter, honest, I wasn't. I mean, I would prefer if you didn't know and I was trying to distract you, but I do like you. Honest." He spoke so earnestly I couldn't stay mad and I sighed.

"I'll see you later, Remus. I've got to go." I stood and left the Great Hall swiftly, embarrassed and confused. I found myself at the grounds, astride a branch in a tree nestled in between Hagrid's hut and the lake. Despite the five pounds or so settled on my waist and stomach, I was exceptionally good at climbing any tree.

I rested against the trunk and surveyed the scenery with half closed eyes, breathing deeply to calm myself. The lake glistened in the light from the half moon, the soft rushing sound of the water lapping at the shore. As I watched a lazy tentacle rose from the water, waving to and fro in the air, water cascading off it like a waterfall. The tentacle slapped down on the surface of the lake, spraying water in all directions and thoroughly soaking me. I was so surprised I dropped from the tree and landed on my elbows and knees. A jolt of pain accompanied an odd, faint popping noise and I screamed, a hand going to my shoulder.

The next thing I knew, Hagrid was kneeling beside me and I was spelled in place. Then, without warning, he reached up and jerked my shoulder. I let out another scream as the popping happened again. "Up yeh go," he said gruffly and swung me into his arms and brought me into his cabin and settled me down on the overstuffed coach. My shoulder still ached but I dug my finger around in the stuffing that was showing through a ripped seam. "Here." Hagrid handed a mug to me roughly the size of a normal tea kettle and I smiled weakly before sipping at the scorching contents. The liquid burned my tongue and lips, but I continued drinking, mainly oblivious, until Hagrid reached up and brought the mug down from my mouth. "How are yeh?" he asked, his face set with worry even beneath his shaggy facial hair.

"I'm f-fine. Th-thank you f-for help-helping me," I whispered. My stutter was worse when I was in or had recently experienced pain.

"No pro'lem," he said, eliminating the middle letter. I decided I liked the fact he had trouble speaking clearly - it made us similar...even if I had a stutter and he had an accent. "Yeh sure yeh feelin' good?" I nodded and carefully set the mug on the wooden table.

"I have a m-meeting with s-someone," I told him and he nodded.

"I'll be tellin' the 'eadmaster about yer injury, jus' the same," he informed me and I nodded once more, echoing his. "Good. Now...if yeh ever wan' to, feel free to visi'." I stood and smiled, feeling as if I had made my second (or perhaps fourth) friend at Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter Two

**Title: **Remembering the Forgotten: I

**Summmary: **Peter Pettigrew has become synonymous with the words traitor, rat, and sneak but what if he's undeserving of that? This is the story of Peter Pettigrew's first year as a student in Hogwarts as he discovers friendship, self-acceptance, and courage.

**Pairings: **none for this one, I think

**Feedback: **All feedback is appreciated, as long as it is not needless flames. Those you can keep to yourself.

**Rating/Warnings: **PG/um...very disturbing mental images, I guess. (not disturbing to me...sighs dreamily)

**Disclaimer: **J.K Rowling's imagination owns: Hogwarts, the Marauders, Lily Evans/Potter, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom (though Murphy as a maiden name is mine) Rubeus Hagrid, Severus Snape (_swoons_...sorry, I am in love with him...and I have finished the sixth book and I was terrified _sobs hysterically_ My Sevvypoo would _never_ do that! He's evil enough, sure, but not powerful enough), Quidditch, and anything else found in my stories that can also be found in the Harry Potter books. The only thing I make/earn out of writing fanfiction is to fill my endless, meaningless days and to distract myself from the pain of life. Just kidding, I mainly have a lot of fun. I did make a dollar once for completing a story, but it was bet...can I be sued for legal gambling? Well, to let you know ahead, the most you'd get is a four-bedroomed house, one room that smells permanently of guinea pig, even though he died five years ago sniffs sadly at memories. It's not my room, though. Oh, you might also get a blue Astro van that is...nine years old. The automatic passenger window is stuck shut, the driver's window can stick when it's open and the air conditioning doesn't work. And it smells faintly of cat pee, and there are a bunch of lollipop sticks that are years old, stuck to the carpet. Yeah, too much information...and this is the longest disclaimer I've ever read/seen/written. Did I miss anything?

**Author's Notes: **For anyone who might be reading this and live in London or near it, I live in Florida, USA...but I was really devastated when I heard about the attacks. I was at my friend's house when I heard for the first time on MTV news and we both started crying a little bit. Especially because she had an aunt staying there for vacation, but luckily she wasn't there during the bombs. And then very recently I heard that the man the police killed in suspicion was really innocent... and then the attacks in Egypt...it's bad enough the terrorists are attacking people _for_ their religion, but to attack people _of_ their religion? It makes no sense to me. I think it was about eighty-five died, and the majority were Muslim.

Okay...no more rants today. Just one last thing, in my world everyone starts Hogwarts when they're twelve and graduate when they're nineteen. So, yes, this is a bit of an AU. Enjoy. Oh, and a cool thing to try on MicrosoftWord is rand(1,5) and then press enter. You can change the numbers however you want, as long as they aren't too long. I think a hundred is the highest, but I could be wrong.

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**Chapter Two:**

"You cheat," Professor Snape sneered, looking down his hooked nose at me. "Such a moronic imbecile as you could never even remotely concoct a potion that resembles the correct form."

"Hiding behind our impressive vocabulary, are we?" James murmured, just loud enough for Snape to hear.

"Excuse me?" he asked harshly, eyes narrowing. "Twenty points from Gryffindor. Behave, Potter." James grinned lazily and saluted, looking more amused then concerned. Two splotches of red appeared on his cheeks, and I cringed at the look of murder in his eyes. He opened his mouth to deal more punishment when Sirius interrupted.

"Behave, Potter," he mocked in a high falsetto. "Otherwise, we won't fu-" James cast a dark look at his friend and gestured very rudely. An image popped, unbidden, into my mind of James and Snape entangled together, but I banished it just as quickly, going red and pinching my robes between my fingers. What was wrong with me?

"Detention, both of you," Snape roared, just as Sirius stood and pranced around the classroom giggling like a four-year-old and plastering his hands across his chest. James, meanwhile, had dropped his anger and was busy stuffing lumps of potion ingrediants up his shirt. He finished but had to cup his enlarged chest so it wouldn't fall out.

"Kiss me, you fool," he cried dramatically to Sirius, pretending to be oblivious to Snape's shouting and the class's overwhelming laughter. He fell into waiting arms and fluttered his eyelashes. Sirius played along and slowly leaned down and for the first time I allowed myself to laugh quietly. But at the small release, everything else exploded in me and soon Remus and I were leaning against each other, laughing with our heads thrown back.

Just when their lips were half an inch away, the door burst open. For a moment it looked like Sirius would drop James, but then he recovered pulled him into an upright position, slinging an arm around his best friend's shoulder and grinning as innocently as he could. Professor Dumbledore stood in the doorway, eyes blazing, and I covered my head, bending over and resting on the desk.

They were escorted out, promised many detentions, and I caught Remus's eye, who was shaking his head as he smiled down at his books, carefully arranging them on his desk. He winked and nodded at the magically conjured time, which glowed in fiery red digital numbers on the wall. There was five minute left in class, and I turned to Remus, confused. Then I noticed every single student had stacked up their books on the corner of their desk. A piece of paper fluttered before me and I snatched it, flushing and watching Professor Snape studiously, waiting for his back to turn. When he did, I scanned the note, and chewed my lower lip out of anxiety, crumbling the note up and putting it in my pocket just in time to avoid Snape's angry glare sweeping the classroom. Obviously, he was in foul mood from the display James and Sirius had put on. Of course, I knew why they were being so disruptive today. It was the last day before the four day weekend we had for Halloween.

I checked the time again. A minute until class ended. I began to sweat nervously on my palms and licked my lips before reaching out and, as quietly as possible, stacking my books up. Just as I reached for the last one, Remus accidentally hit the table with his knee as a Slytherin on his way to the supply cabinet kicked him from behind. My sweaty hands couldn't hold on to the slippery protective cover and it crashed into my mountain of five text books, toppling them all onto the floor with a crash that silenced the rare and muted whispers through the classroom. Snape whirled around, eyes narrowed, just as Remus picked up his books and dropped them heavily on the ground, on purpose. I felt my eyes go wide as Snape directed his beam at Remus, who was humming innocently and kneeled onthe floor, picking up his books as if the murderous-looking professor hadn't just witnessed him slam his books on the floor.

"Sorry professor," he said as genuinely as possible, flashing him a wide smile that looked out of place on Remus's - there was no other way to describe them than gentle - features, to me at least. "Bug." Professor Snape, his face going red, opened his mouth in a snarl jsut as clas ended. Remus swept his books into his bag and disappeared out the door before anyone else ahd registered class was over. I grabbed a fistful of my robes and began twisting, too stunned to move, and eventually pulled myself from my daze. No sooner had I finished packing up than Professor Snape swept over, robes billowing as he scowled. Severus hung at the back, gloating as he watched his father yell at me. I focused on blocking out the words, flushing deeply as I worried my robes, until he reached the part about my actual punishment.

"-fifty points from Gryffindor, and detention for a month," he finished, attempting to scowl and smirk at the same time and ending up with something dangerously close to a humane smile. Odd...

"Yes sir," I mumbled, not caring I would miss the Halloween festivities. Most of them required a date, and even the first years would have one...except I wouldn't. People obviously thought I didn't see the pitying looks I got, mainly from girls as they walked around in packs. Like wild animals on the hunt...

I grimaced at my strange thoughts and pushed them away, focusing instead on the fact I would be scrubbing cauldrons for the next month. I had the impulse to smack my head against something, but substituted that for slamming my bag on my Transfiguration desk, only to realize I had Charms next. I came close to swearing but decided to put the effort into spritning towards the classroom, on the other side of the castle, a few people laughing as they saw my...weight, you could say, jiggling as I ran. And although no one knew it, that was the reason I snuck down to the kitchens (which I had discovered in the first week, so disgustingly food-obsessed was I), at midnight, to pig out on anything with chocolate.

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At lunch, I stared up at the mournful face of Remus Lupin, who looked vicious despite his...sadness? He was stabbing his broccoli as if it was responsible for world hunger and kept muttering nonsense things. James and Sirius were too involved in reliving their potions experience for third years to notice, so I decided to ask. 

I took a deep breath and blurted, "Why?" Remus looked up, eyebrows raised.

"Hmm?" His noise of bare interest lowered my confidence nominally and once more I reached for as much robe as I could hold in my hands. I was actually starting to get annoyed with this particular habit and forced myself to let go. Instead, I picked up my spoon and swirled my soup.

"Why d-did you do what y-you did...you kn-know...um, in p-potions..." I trailed off as he looked up sharply before sighing, running a hand through his hair.

"Can we talk about this later? I'm not in a very good mood right now," he answered, slightly testy, and I blinked in surprise. He must have read something on my face because he sighed again. "Look, it's not about you. My mum's very ill and I need to go visit her." I went white at his last sentence and looked down.

"Yeah, I kn-know," I muttered.

"What?"

"I mean, m-my mum's sick too. She hasn't g-gotten out of b-bed in a year," I explained, feeling embarassed as James and Sirius had started listening.

"Oh, Peter..." he let my name die and James and Sirius exchanged looks.

"N-no, it's alright," I assured the three, suddenly tingling in happiness at their obvious concern. I'd never told anyone about my mum before, because I'd never had any friends. The only people who knew were dad and my grandma. My grandpa had died before I turned five and mum was an only child. I didn't know about dad's parents or siblings because he'd been disowned when he was sixteen.

"We're going to go exploring tonight," Sirius said after a few moments of silence. "Want to come?"

"W-won't we get caught?" I asked, worried. James laughed and shook his head.

"I'll show you after dinner," he murmured just as he stood and looked at Sirius. "Time for flying lessons. You coming, Remus, Peter?" Remus nodded and took one last bite before standing and brushing his crumbs off his robes. He dipped a finger in water and rubbed a smear of something off his face. I smiled when he caught my eye, for I would never have expected Remus to be a messy eater. He grinned back and we left the Great Hall. It was a five minute walk and James and Sirius started a challenge to see who could find the most varaties of non-magical plants growing on the Hogwarts grounds. James and Remus died, with ten different plants, and Sirius was second with eight. I was last with three, but it was still fun.

"Was that Whomping Willow there before?" James asked Sirius, who had a brother and two cousins already in Hogwarts, although I didn't know this for a while. James's father and mother were wizards, but his mother was muggleborn and his father was halfblood. Sirius was a pureblood however, and Remus's family had been completely magical for the past century. When we discussed family, I didn't mention that I was a mix of a Muggle and a Squib.

"No, they never threatened to leave me tied to the Whomping Willow," he said, just a hint of dark anger in his voice. "Obviously, that means it doesn't exist." I noticed Remus was concentrating on his feet and his strides had lengthened but I remained silent and hurried to catch up, leaving the other two in a conversation of complaining about siblings.

* * *

Madame Hooch looked like she was barely out of Hogwarts, but I had heard she was an emergency replacement, due to a flying accident the other instructor had. She had amber eyes and spiky black hair, and something about her scared me. Remus also tensed up when he saw her and she nodded at him, a strange look on her face. 

"You know her?" James whispered as we stood beside a school broom.

"You could say that," he answered sourly, kicking at a clump of weeds. "I'll tell you later." I didn't realize it then, but with Remus it was always later.


End file.
